Romar: UW has to keep up in facilities

Oregon’s new basketball arena, with its video scoreboard that’s bigger than any other in the NCAA and its funky Nike-designed court that takes some getting used to, is a stunning visual display of state-of-the-art wizardry.

For the hefty price of $227 million, the Ducks built a 12,364-seat palace that features a hydrotherapy pool, two exclusive lounges, four private suites, 15 concession stands, 18 restrooms and 229 high-definition televisions spread throughout the facility.

“It’s very nice,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “They did a good job with the place.”

Standing on the sidelines at Matt Arena on Friday afternoon, Romar said the Huskies can’t “sit back while everyone else is getting better.”

He talked at length about Washington exploring plans to build a multimillion dollar practice facility.

“We are seriously looking at a new facility. Not where we play, but a new practice facility that will house our offices and the weight room and everything,” he said. “It will be a nice improvement.”

Washington is considering sites near Edmundson Pavilion as well as a plan to add an attachment to the arena. Romar was unsure how much the facility would cost.